Bellossom/RSE
Oddish is a relatively common Pokémon in Generation III Hoenn. Oddish has a 10% chance of being encountered on Route 110 in all three games. On Route 117, Oddish has a 10% chance of being encountered in Ruby and Sapphire, and a 40% chance of being encountered in Emerald. On Route 119, Oddish has a 30% chance of being encountered in all three games, and has a 25% chance of being encountered on Route 120 in all three games. On Routes 121 and 123, in all three games, Oddish has a 15% chance of being encountered, and Gloom has a 5% chance of being encountered. In the Safari Zone, the player has a 45% chance of encountering either Oddish or Gloom in Areas 1 through 4. Sun Stones can be obtained as early as Meteor Falls in Ruby/Emerald by catching or using Thief/Covet/Trick on a Solrock that’s holding one. A Sun Stone is obtainable from an NPC in Mossdeep Space Center as well. Bellossom can be an especially useful Pokémon in the Water-type heavy late-game Hoenn due to its Grass typing. Unlike Vileplume, whose Poison-typing makes it vulnerable to Psychic-types, Bellossom is able to battle Psychic-types and can provide a useful Ground-type resistance to your team. However, the lack of Poison-typing leaves it more vulnerable to Fighting, Bug, and Poison (both the typing and the status). In addition, Leaf Stones are both available earlier (in Sapphire, at least) and in greater numbers in Hoenn, so Bellossom users usually wait longer to evolve their Gloom. Important Matchups - Emerald = * Gym #2 - Brawly (Dewford Town, Fighting-type): Oddish can perform well in this gym, thanks to its Fighting resistance. A combination of Sleep Powder and Bullet Seed can dispose of Brawly's Pokémon, but neither Stun Spore nor PoisonPowder should be used against Machop, as they would activate Guts. Meditite must be attacked continuously, as its only offensive move is Focus Punch. * Rival (Route 110): At this point in the game, Oddish’s strongest STAB move is either Absorb or Bullet Seed. This gives you an advantage over Marshtomp. Lombre’s best move on Oddish is Swift via Nature Power, allowing Oddish to inflict status upon it and switch to a teammate with an advantageous matchup. Oddish can inflict status upon Grovyle, but has to beware the boosted Pursuit when it switches out, so if better options against it exist, they should be preferred. All other Pokémon used in this rival battle have an advantage over Oddish, so it should not be used in those situations. * Wally (Mauville City): The weakness to Confusion and lack of substantial moves to hit with discourages usage of Oddish/Gloom in this battle. * Gym #3 - Wattson (Mauville City, Electric-type): Oddish/Gloom doesn’t want to have to withstand Voltorb’s Self-Destruct (though a high-level Gloom is likely able to survive). You are probably better off using a Pokémon that can either defeat Voltorb before it blows up, or is able to withstand the explosion better. Oddish/Gloom is unable to deal any considerable damage to Magneton, but will be able to inflict it with Stun Spore or Sleep Powder in order to make the battle easier for a teammate. Be sure that Oddish/Gloom’s health doesn’t drop below 20 HP as the magnet Pokémon carries SonicBoom. A high-level Gloom may be able to defeat Manectric with a combination of Sleep Powder/Stun Spore and Acid , but a lower-level Oddish or Gloom doesn’t have the offensive presence that Acid provides, and may give Manectric an opportunity to set up Howl. * Tabitha (Mt. Chimney): Gloom/Bellossom is at a disadvantage against all of Tabitha's team except Poochyena, and should not participate in any other battle. * Maxie (Mt. Chimney): Gloom/Bellossom has a clear disadvantage against Camerupt and Zubat. Gloom/Bellossom may be able to defeat Mightyena if it gets lucky with status and/or Acid/Bullet Seed, but it can provide Mightyena an opportunity to set up with Howl if you are unlucky. * Gym #4 - Flannery (Lavaridge Town, Fire-type): Gloom/Bellossom has a severe disadvantage in this gym and should not be used. * Gym #5 - Norman (Petalburg City, Normal-type): It’s not recommended that Gloom/Bellossom induce any status other than Sleep in this gym as you don’t want to boost Facade, which is carried on all of Norman’s Pokémon. Gloom should avoid Spinda and Linoone, the former due to a weakness to Psybeam and the latter due to potentially giving Linoone a chance to set up Belly Drum. Bellossom fares much better against these Pokémon. Sleep Powder is useless against Vigoroth’s Vital Spirit, and it is unlikely to overpower it unless you get high hit numbers with Bullet Seed or lucky with Acid defense drops. Gloom/Bellossom may be able to put Sleep on Slaking and shift to another teammate, but if other options are available for this Gym, they should be preferred. * Shelly (Weather Institute): Gloom/Bellossom is likely able to defeat most any Pokémon in this battle with the assistance of Sleep Powder. Mightyena’s Swagger could cause some potential problems, so have backup Pokémon in place. * Rival (Route 119): Gloom/Bellossom should be able to defeat Marshtomp easily even if it’s strongest Grass move is still Absorb. A Gloom carrying Acid/Sludge Bomb can easily defeat Grovyle and Lombre. All other Pokémon your rival may have should be avoided, as they have an advantageous matchup against Gloom/Bellossom. * Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): Gloom/Bellossom has a very disadvantageous matchup against the Pokémon in this gym, and should not participate in this battle. * Rival (Lilycove City): Gloom/Bellossom should, as usual, be able to defeat Water- and Grass-types with ease. The newly added Tropius, however, is more dangerous to fight, due to its secondary STAB. It is also wise to keep avoiding any Fire-types. * Tabitha (Jagged Pass Hideout): Gloom/Bellossom has no reason to battle any bats as it is weak to their Flying STAB moves. While the only camel that has a Fire-type move in this segment is Tabitha’s Numel, both Camerupts should be avoided as they know powerful moves while Gloom/Bellossom’s best option is Bullet Seed or possibly Giga Drain. Tabitha’s Mightyena is probably manageable. * Maxie (Jagged Pass Hideout): See previous matchup; all considerations apply. Maxie’s Mightyena knows the more powerful Take Down, which may be more than Gloom/Bellossom can handle when factoring in the dogs’ Swagger. * Matt (Lilycove Hideout): Matt’s Mightyena doesn’t know any moves that deal direct damage, but still knows Swagger, so be wary of that. Golbat should be avoided. * Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): Bellossom should be cautious in this battle as Solrock knows Flamethrower, but also has low Special Attack, especially when not under strong sunlight. Petal Dance targets randomly in Double Battles, which has a possibility of targeting Xatu and giving it an opportunity to use Calm Mind. Bellossom can use Sunny Day in the beginning of the battle to allow it to SolarBeam through the Ground and Rock-types, but this strengthens Solrock considerably and should only be utilized if Bellossom has a substantial level advantage. * Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, tag battle with Steven): If you’ve chosen to go with Petal Dance as your primary STAB move, Bellossom should avoid this battle as being locked into a multi-turn move is dangerous in a double battle. Even Giga Drain variants should avoid this conflict, as the unpredictable nature of Double Battles could bring in Golbat/Crobat at any time without warning. * Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Bellossom can easily make short work of Sharpedo with Giga Drain or Petal Dance. However, Mightyena is dangerous due to Swagger, and can dent Bellossom's HP with Take Down. * Archie (Seafloor Cavern): With Giga Drain or Petal Dance, Mightyena and Sharpedo shouldn’t be much of a problem for Bellossom. Archie's Crobat should be avoided due to the obvious advantage it has over Bellossom. * Gym #8 - Juan (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Bellossom’s Grass typing should come in handy for this gym. Bellossom’s best bet for this Gym is to use the combination of Sunny Day and SolarBeam, which will likely allow it to outspeed and OHKO every Pokémon except possibly Kingdra. Sealeo and Kingdra all know Ice moves, which can threaten Bellossom if they get critical hits or freeze it. It should be noted that Sunny Day only lasts for an effective four turns, which doesn’t let you KO all 5 Pokémon. Your best bet is to have a teammate defeat the weak Luvdisc and possibly the Sealeo, and then set up the Sunny-beam combo. Petal Dance variants will likely be able to OHKO every Pokémon except Kingdra, but should be cautious against confusion (especially in Set-mode or without Yellow Flute support). It is not recommended that Giga Drain variants attempt to take on Kingdra without support options in place. * Wally (Victory Road): Wally’s Altaria, and Magneton are very dangerous to a Bellossom, and should be avoided. His Delcatty is an exceptionally weak Pokémon and should be easily defeated by any moderately strong STAB attack. Roselia can likely be defeated by Bellossom that carry Acid or Sludge Bomb, but should watch out for Toxic. Bellossom should avoid taking on Gardevoir unless it has a significant level advantage for fear of allowing it to set up Calm Mind. * Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Sidney’s Mightyena is most easily dealt with by Petal Dance variants, but Sand-Attack is fairly annoying, so if other options that can OHKO Mightyena on your team exist, they should be preferred. Crawdaunt is easily dealt with by Bellossom’s STAB Grass move. Cacturne and Shiftry can’t deal much damage to Bellossom and is easily dispatched by a Poison move. Absol’s Swords Dance and Aerial Ace can be dangerous, so Bellossom should only attempt this matchup if it has a significant level advantage. * Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): Bellossom is likely able to win the battle of attrition against Dusclops #1 as it usually uses Curse, doing most of the work for you. Bellossom is especially useful for taking the Curse of this first Dusclops and leaving the rest of the battle to a teammate that can better handle Ghost-types. Bellossom can take advantage of Banette’s low Special Defense and KO with a strong Grass attack. It should be cautious of Will-o-Wisp and Toxic, however. Sableye is probably safe to battle as long as you don’t let it get too many Double Teams up (Petal Dance and SolarBeam variants are likely best suited for this). Dusclops #2 should be left to another teammate as it knows Ice Beam. * Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Glacia’s Glalies are very dangerous for Bellossom to face as they all carry Ice Beam, and should be left to other teammates. Attempting to set up Sunny Day is risky but rewarding as it will allow you to SolarBeam your way through her Water-types at the cost of leaving you vulnerable to Attract, Encore, or an Ice move for the turn you set up Sunny Day. Extreme caution should be used when attempting this tactic. Even in harsh sunlight, Walrein is not guaranteed to be OHKO’d by SolarBeam, and is less risky if left to another teammate. Giga Drain Bellossom should avoid this battle. * Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Shelgon should be avoided as it resists your STAB moves. Sleep Powder can allow Bellossom to defeat his Flygon but it knows Flamethrower, and is better left to a teammate carrying an Ice-type move. Bellossom should avoid Altaria for fear of letting it set up Dragon Dance, and Bellossom has no business battling Salamence. Bellossom will likely be able to defeat Kingdra (especially Petal Dance variants) but have to be careful of Smokescreen and Dragon Dance/Body Slam. Sleep Powder is risky but very rewarding in this matchup, as it will all but assure Bellossom’s victory, but allows it to set up either Smokescreen or Dragon Dance if it misses. * Champion Wallace (Ever Grande City, Water-type): While Bellossom doesn’t want to deal with Blizzard, it will likely KO Wailord before that happens. Petal Dance Bellossom is the safest to use against Wailord. Tentacruel is likely the most dangerous of Wallace’s Pokémon due to its high Special Defense and access to Ice Beam and Sludge Bomb, but will likely be KO’d in two moves by Petal Dance or SolarBeam. Gyarados is also problematic, but can be handled by Bellossom if at or near full health (especially if the Sun is up before Gyarados is sent out). Whiscash is a wonderful opportunity for Bellossom to set up Sunny Day or regain health with Giga Drain. Bellossom can also set up Sunny Day on Ludicolo, and is able to KO it with Grass STAB or Sludge Bomb. Milotic’s Ice Beam can hazardous, but a Bellossom at full health or with Sun support can likely make quick work of it. * Steven (Meteor Falls, Steel-type): Steven’s Pokémon are virtually identical to the Ruby/Sapphire champion battle, but trainers are less inclined to start this battle at an even or higher level, so Bellossom should be more cautious of neutral matchups such as Armaldo if you choose to battle Steven under-leveled. }} Moves Oddish will know Absorb and Sweet Scent upon being captured on Route 110. The former will serve as its primary STAB should you not teach it Bullet Seed for a significant portion of the game. The latter has slight utility in catching Pokémon and making the upcoming Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, and PoisonPowder more accurate, but in general, Sweet Scent has little use. Sleep Powder and Stun Spore are very useful moves throughout all the game, but PoisonPowder tends to be the inferior status. All three are useful for catching Pokémon with little risk of accidentally KO-ing it. Three levels after evolving into Gloom at level 24, it finally gets Poison STAB in the move Acid, which can serve as its strongest Poison move unless the Sludge Bomb TM is utilized. At level 35, Gloom gets Moonlight which synergizes well with Sunny Day, but that should really only be considered if your Nuzlocke restricts healing items. At level 44, Gloom and Bellossom learn the move Petal Dance, which is a powerful move which comes at the cost of locking the Grass-type Pokémon into the move for two or three turns, and confuses it at the end. This move is especially dangerous in Set-mode runs or runs that restrict items like Full Heals, Persim Berries, or the Yellow Flute. The Bellossom line has few notable TMs. Bullet Seed is a good TM to put on it early-game as it’s at least as strong as Absorb. However, for the long term, there are better options, so usage of this TM could be seen as a waste. Giga Drain, found on Route 123, provides reliable STAB without any drawbacks and is worth considering over Petal Dance and other Grass STAB moves. The Sludge Bomb TM becomes available in Dewford Town after Norman is defeated and is Bellossom's best Poison coverage option, but this TM may be put to better use on a Pokémon that has a better Attack stat than Bellossom's middling base 80. Bellossom is likely Hoenn’s best user of the Sunny Day and SolarBeam combination due to its ability Chlorophyll patching up its poor base 50 Speed stat. However, this strategy should only be utilized if it synergizes well with the rest of the team; you don’t want to detrimentally affect the Water-types on your team. Sunny Day can be forgone if a teammate can reliably set up the sun, but the turns it takes to switch into Bellossom can cut into valuable sun turns. Hidden Power should only be considered if Fire-type as it synergizes well with Sunny Day. Toxic can be used, but Bellossom can spread sleep and paralysis, which is generally superior. Lastly, Attract synergizes well with Stun Spore, but is unreliable at best. Recommended moveset: ''Sunnybeam: Sunny Day, SolarBeam, Sleep Powder / Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb / Petal Dance / Moonlight'' ''Regular: Petal Dance / Giga Drain, Sleep Powder / Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, Petal Dance / Giga Drain / Sleep Powder / Stun Spore'' Other Oddish's stats Gloom's stats Bellossom's stats * What Nature do I want? Bellossom wants as much Special Defense as possible to take the coverage Ice moves many Water types carry, so a Sassy or Gentle nature is preferred. Nearly any Special Defense boosting nature is good, though. Attack lowering natures are only preferred if Bellossom isn’t going to be running a Poison move. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? There’s no reason Oddish should be withheld from evolving as it desperately wants to evolve quickly. If caught in the mid game, Oddish should be evolving sometime around battling Wattson. If caught post-Norman, it will be evolving as soon as it grows a level. Unless you really want Moonlight, you should be evolving Gloom as soon as soon as it’s learned Acid (or immediately after being caught if caught post-Norman). * How good is Bellossom in a Nuzlocke? While Oddish and Gloom tend to be fairly poor Pokémon before evolving, Bellossom is especially useful in late-game Hoenn due to the large amounts of Water-type Pokémon in this segment of the game. Bellossom is especially useful in Emerald due to the Champion being a Water-type user. That said, Bellossom’s Grass STAB either falls short on base power (Giga Drain) or carries inherent drawbacks (SolarBeam/Petal Dance). In addition, Grass-types aren’t uncommon in Hoenn, but most either are simply outclassed (Roselia, Cacturne), have an entirely different team role (Ludicolo, Tropius, Breloom), or have means of acquisition that require you to give up another Pokémon (Cradily, Sceptile). The Oddish line is perhaps the most consistent Grass-type in Hoenn. Oddish's and Gloom's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Ice, Psychic * Resistances: Water, Electric, Fighting, Grass (x0.25) * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Rock, Ghost, Steel, Dragon, Dark, Bug, Poison, Ground Bellossom's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Ice, Bug, Poison * Resistances: Water, Electric, Ground, Grass * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Rock, Ghost, Steel, Dragon, Dark, Fighting, Psychic Category:Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald